The paper is one of the most used materials for centuries and that, despite the fact that the digital age is changing the uses and customs, it still constitutes one of the most common supports for reading or printing. The role was invented in China, approximately 200 ACC later, it would arrive in Europe through the Arabs and, finally, it would extend throughout the world, becoming the material that is today. However, the way of manufacturing artisanal paper is far from the methods used today.
If you want to meet What types of paper are used to make bookskeep reading Ecology Verde because we explain it to you below.
Cellulose is the basis of any paper
The basic material with which any type of paper is manufactured is The cellulose. Cellulose is a material that is obtained from vegetables (in addition it is also present in some species of the protist kingdom). In this way, cellulose is a molecule present mainly in plants And that, when separating and isolated, a paste is obtained that can be used to manufacture different more processed objects or materials, including paper. Due to this, the largest amount of material that composes any paper or cardboard is composed of cellulose, also including the different papers used for the Book manufacturing.
Within plants, cellulose is a very abundant molecule. In fact, it constitutes the most abundant organic matter in terrestrial areas. This is because cellulose is one of the molecules that composes the wall of plant cells. That is, it is present in a large amount in plants, since it is responsible for the protection and isolation of each of its cells.
Types of paper to make books
However, although cellulose is the basis of any paper or cardboardtoday, you can find papers of many types. This is because, although the base is The cellulosethanks to various subsequent substances and treatments, it is possible to give it a different finish as the case may be. An example of these treatments is found in paper bleaching. Cellulose is not white, but rather gray or brown. To get the white color so characteristic of the paper, various substances are used, including chlorine, especially polluting if it gets free in the environment.
Likewise, we must also bear in mind that, at the time of Manufacture booksthere are many different types of paper, since each of them better adapts to the specific needs of each book. Some of the Types of paper to make books which are more common are the following:
- Offset paper: This is the standard white paper, it is one of the most common, since it is quite cheap to produce and is used in a general way for almost any type of book or binding.
- Ahuesado or ivory paper: It is a paper with certain yellowish touches and somewhat more rough to touch. It is a role that allows comfortable reading, so it is mainly used for the impression of literature books, such as stories, novels or poetry.
- Stucked paper: This type of paper has a brighter finish due to the use of chemical substances that fix the color. In fact, it is the most used in books that are printed in full color or even for magazines.
Why it is important to recycle paper
There are many people who think that, like the great base of the paper is cellulose, an organic and biodegradable molecule, the paper does not contaminate. This would be true if the current role was composed only of this substance. However, the role used today, both for the elaboration of books and for magazines, brochures, folios, notebooks, some cardboard, and many other things, there is composed of cellulose and dozens of synthetic chemicals which are the ones that give it the final finish. In addition, beyond the paper itself, The inks They are used are composed in many cases of synthetic chemicals. In this way, if the paper breaks into the environment, these synthetic chemicals end up dispersing also in the environment, so it is a type of polluting material despite their little resistance to degradation. In addition, the paper manufacturing process also implies environmental pollution (for example by gas emission).
Therefore, the right thing to get rid of paper or cardboard is to deposit it in a paper recycling container (The blue ones). In this way, it can be decomposed in a controlled way and reuse cellulose fibers for the manufacture of new paper, so potentially polluting waste is transformed into raw material that can be used again without having to cut more trees to obtain virgin cellulose.
I broader this information with this other ecology article in which we talk about why it is important to recycle paper and cardboard and in this other on what is the environmental impact of paper consumption.
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